WELLFLEET, MASS. (WHDH) - A Massachusetts Environmental Police Officer is being credited with saving a leatherback turtle that became entangled in fishing gear in the waters off Wellfleet.

The officer found the turtle while on patrol and discovered that the gear line was wrapped so tightly around the turtle’s neck that they were unable to untangle it.

After picking up a staffer from the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, the leatherback turtle was safely freed from the fishing gear and able to swim back into the ocean.

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